Gill's was in many respects the archetype of a life
devoted to science. Though not an unsociable sort he never married, preferring
to apply all his energies to his researches: to the extent of actually
living for many years in a room at the Smithsonian Institution, with which
he began a lifelong association in 1861. Not a field biologist, he spent
his time in the lab studying morphology, especially bone structure, of
fishes and birds (he also worked on mammals and mollusks), producing over
five hundred scientific papers (but no books). Gill was one of the master
taxonomists of his time and historically rates among the front rank of
ichthyologists. He was especially known for his extraordinary memory ("in
his special field he read everything and forgot nothing") and how it aided
him in interrelating the literature on every subject he took up.

Life Chronology

--born in New York City, on 21 March 1837.
--1855: receives scholarship to attend Wagner
Free Institute of Science, Philadelphia
--1858: takes part in an expedition to collect
fish specimens in the West Indies
--1860-1861: adjunct professor of physics and
natural history, Columbian College (later George Washington University)
--1861: begins association with the Smithsonian
Institution
--1862-1866: librarian, Smithsonian Institution
--1864-1866: lecturer in natural history, Columbian
College
--1865: A.M. (honorary), Columbian College
--1866: M.D. (honorary), Columbian College
--1866-1874: assistant librarian, Library of
Congress
--1870: Ph.D. (honorary), Columbian College
--1871: publishes his Arrangement
of the Families of Mollusks
--1872: publishes his Arrangement
of the Families of Fishes and Arrangement
of the Families of Mammals
--1873: publishes his Catalogue of
the Fishes of the East Coast of North America
--1873: elected to the National Academy
of Sciences
--1873-1884: lecturer in zoology, Columbian
College
--1884-1910: professor of zoology, Columbian
College
--1893: publishes "A
Comparison of Antipodal Faunas" in the Memoirs of the National
Academy of Sciences
--1894-1914: associate in zoology, Smithsonian
Institution
--1895: LL.D. (honorary), Columbian College
--1896: vice-president, American Association
for the Advancement of Science
--1897: president, American Association for
the Advancement of Science
--1901: visits Scotland
--1906: publishes "Parental
Care Among Fresh-Water Fishes" in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian
Institution
--dies at Washington, D.C., on 25 September
1914.